“God Bless America” by Kate Smith

This song was originally written in 1918 by American composer and lyricist Irving Berlin. The 1938 Kate Smith version is actually a rewrite he did in light of the rise of Nazism (Irving himself was actually born in Russia) and in which he presented the song in more of a prayer format.

The introduction to the track calls the listener to “swear allegiance to a land that’s free”, that of course being America. It also acknowledges “the storm clouds (that) gather far across the sea”, again alluding to Nazi Germany.

The main theme of the song is basically expressing appreciation and love for America and asking the almighty God to bless the nation. This admiration is not only based on the United States being home of the singer but also a beacon of hope whose ideologies of fairness emanate far and wide.

Facts about “God Bless America”

• Kate Smith was the first person to perform the 1938 updated version of “God Bless America”. She did so via radio broadcast on her own show on Armistice Day (11 November, now known as Veteran’s Day).
• The following year, Kate Smith’s version of the song was published by RCA Victor Records.
• “God Bless America” became the song that defined Kate Smith’s career.
• Major League Baseball team the New York Yankees have been playing Kate Smith’s “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch of home games since the infamous terrorist attacks on New York City that took place on 11 September 2001.
• Since discovering that Smith made at least one blatantly-racist songs in the 1930’s, as of 18 April 2019 the Yankees have decided to stop playing “God Bless America”. However, the Yankees continued to play “God Bless America” in general, just not Kate Smith’s version.
• In light of this discovery that Smith sung racists songs, the National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers also decided that they will start playing a different version of “God Bless America”, not Smith’s own. In further action, the Flyers also decided to cover a statue of Kate Smith which rests a short distance away from their arena, the Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia). This statue was originally erected at the Spectrum, the old home of the Philadelphia Flyers. However, it was moved closer to the Wells Fargo Center when the Spectrum was demolished in 2011.
• Kate Smith actually performed “God Bless America” for the Philadelphia Flyers before they won the coveted Stanley Cup in 1974. Due to that, in a prior history of good luck associated with the song, some Flyers’ fans have come to associate the singer with the team’s overall success, with the US Postal Service in collaboration with the Flyers actually creating a Kate Smith postage stamp in 2010. Owing to this, some prominent individuals associated with the Philadelphia Flyers’ organization have voiced displeasure over the banning of Kate Smith.
• Black Lives Matter activist Asa Khalif states that he and other likeminded individuals have been protesting to the Philadelphia Flyers via the internet and telephone for over a year concerning Kate Smith’s racist history before they finally decided to take action in light of the 18 April 2019 New York Daily News article which broke this story open.